Zimbabwe doctors, nurses milking patients through syndicates

The Medical Laboratory and Clinical Scientists Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe is taking stern action against laboratory professionals who are collaborating with health workers in public institutions to coerce patients into seeking services from specific private sector laboratories. This occurs despite government-run institutions providing similar services at much lower costs.

Doctors and nurses often recommend specific laboratories for blood, urine, or stool sample tests and provide contact numbers for sample collection. These laboratories have bikers on standby at public health institutions to collect samples and return results to patients' bedsides. While this might seem convenient, the council states that such practices are exacerbating the financial burden on patients, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.

At a Health Professions Authority familiarisation meeting, the council's registrar, Ms. Agnes Chigora, highlighted that this unethical conduct compromises healthcare affordability and accessibility. She urged the public to report such malpractices and warned that involved medical practitioners could face disciplinary action. Ms. Chigora emphasized that medical practitioners' primary duty is to provide quality care to patients, including making informed decisions about laboratory services that benefit patients, not their own financial gain.

This stance aligns with the government's efforts to improve public healthcare affordability. The Ministry of Health and Child Care, through the Biomedical Research and Training Institution and supported by the Global Fund and United Nations Development Programme, is implementing the Integrated Specimen Transportation system to enhance disease diagnosis, patient management, and health outcomes in public health facilities. However, urban health workers sometimes claim their labs lack the capacity to conduct certain tests, pushing patients towards private labs.

Ms. Chigora noted that some implicated labs provide substandard services. To address this, the council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, will carry out a certification exercise for all laboratories to ensure compliance with required standards. Labs scoring below 55 percent will be classified as level zero and lose their licenses, while those at level 1 will have time to correct identified non-conformities. This certification programme targets all laboratories in both the public and private sectors.

Malpractices have also been reported in pharmacies, where health workers sometimes direct clients. The Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe registrar, Mr. Alois Karonga, stated that the council has addressed various malpractices, including dispensing prescription medicines without prescriptions, selling expired and unregistered medicines, and operating pharmacies without registered pharmacists, through disciplinary inquiries.